


you can listen to my heart explode

by Suicix



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Feel-good, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Matchmaking, Pining, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 20:36:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4760147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suicix/pseuds/Suicix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wade meets Cody in perhaps the most cliché way possible, and feels bound to never see him again. Not if Drew has anything to say about it, that is. (Though perhaps it's best to let things unfold as they happen.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	you can listen to my heart explode

**Author's Note:**

> this kind of got away from me. it was supposed to be about half the length. i only had about 1.5k of it done before this evening and was all "right time to finish this" but y'know. it just. kept going. it's just 3k of shameless self-indulgent feel-good fic.
> 
> Title from "Hold On" by Twin Atlantic.

If Wade was to say that he didn’t kind of sort of _maybe_ have his eye on the man who’s queuing up for coffee in front of him, it would be a lie. A huge, huge lie. How can someone be even the slightest bit chipper at this hour of the morning without any caffeine first? Sure, this guy probably (definitely) got more sleep than Wade did, but it’s still absolutely mind-boggling that someone is so much as _smiling_ before 8AM.

There’s also the fact that the man _does_ happen to be particularly attractive, and it’s not just because of his smile. Even if he seemed as irritable as Wade is, Wade would have to look twice. More than twice. Would have to make sure he isn’t staring, actually.

He blinks. Shit. That was probably staring, wasn’t it? Even if just at the back of the man’s head as he faced the counter. Still staring. Wade forces himself to look away, although that’s difficult when the man turns and Wade gets another glimpse of his face. Of his smile again, which is...

“Rough morning, huh?”

Which is directed at Wade.

“You could say that,” Wade says, and _until I saw you, perhaps_ , is half wanting to get out of his mind and into his mouth, but he doesn’t follow through with it. The man isn’t trying to flirt with him, so Wade isn’t even going to attempt that, no matter how much he’d like to.

“Yeah, I feel that,” he says, and Wade snorts. “What?”

“I’m not exactly buying that. You look like you’re one of those people who wakes up at some ungodly hour and has done at least fifty things before you’ve even got to leave for work. And even then you’re still like, some star employee who everyone gets on with.” Oh _God_ , what’s he even _saying?_ “That’s a good thing, by the way,” he feels the need to add, just in case it sounded bitter. “You’ve like. Got this glow...”

That time he really did let his words get away from him. He can’t just go around telling people they’ve got a _glow_ when he doesn’t even know their name. Not someone in the coffee shop in the morning, at least. What the hell is he _thinking?_ Evidently, he isn’t.

“Well,” the man starts, furrowing his brow as if he’s trying to figure something out, “I guess I did walk the dogs _and_ work out before coming here. Not necessarily for long, but that’s still something...”

(Somehow the fact that this man has dogs isn’t even putting Wade off him. That’s usually somewhat of a deal breaker. Maybe it’s just balanced out by him saying that he worked out and Wade’s mind is drifting towards the idea of _that_. He tries to lose the thoughts though, because seriously: _not_ appropriate. Why is he even considering this? He shouldn’t be thinking about things being _deal breakers_ or, God, _the potential of an actual relationship_. This is a random encounter with someone who just so happens to be friendly and cheerful and good looking. This is nothing, and it’s stupid to think it could be anything more.)

“... so maybe some of that’s kinda true, then. Still human though, still need to be here to get my coffee, and–”

The barista calls for a Cody, and suddenly he’s stopped in the middle of his sentence.

“That’s me!” the man – _Cody_ – says, and he darts down to where his drink is waiting with another smile.

The smile stays with Wade long after he’s gone, all through the commute to work and beyond that. A good smile, then, and a good person. And of course Wade knows nothing about him, but with some people you can just _tell_.

 

 

It plagues his mind all day.

Or maybe plague isn’t the right word, because why should someone who seems so genuine and good-natured even be associated with disease? It’s more like some kind of plant that’s decided to take refuge in Wade’s brain and won’t stop growing, although _that_ makes it sound like Cody’s a weed Wade can’t get rid of, and that isn’t right either. Besides, where’s the sunlight that’s helping the feeling grow? Wade isn’t exactly giving off warmth and light and no way is he the driving force behind any kind of life. It’s _Cody_ who’s the sunshine, too bright and too brilliant for Wade. Whatever. It’s not like they’re going to see each other again. He’ll carry on as usual, finish with work and then head out to meet Drew for some drinks, just like they do most Fridays, and Drew will be ready with some ridiculous story to tell, and then he can try to forget.

 

 

Or maybe not.

“There’s someone, isn’t there?” is what Drew says almost immediately after having sat down, after only studying Wade’s face for a moment.

Wade glares at him. Curse Drew for knowing him so well.

“Come on, then. No point trying to hide it. You get a name this time, or is it just some fleeting flight of fancy where you didn’t even talk to them?”

“There’s nothing–” Wade begins, but Drew looks at him dangerously. He sighs. “Fine. There was a man. You happy with that?”

Apparently, Drew’s very far from happy with it: he makes some flailing gesture with his hands, obviously annoyed but apparently unable to articulate it just yet.

“Get that _was_ out of there. There _is_ a man! That’s much better, isn’t it? Doesn’t sound like you’ve gone and had your heart broken by whoever it is already.”

Wade means for the look he sends Drew to be sharp, as razor-sharp and cutting as barbed wire, but Drew seems unfazed by it. How is he unfazed by it? Probably all the years being Wade’s friend, being so used to him.

“It’s not like I’m going to see him again, so what’s the point?” Wade laments. “He was just. Nice to look at. And actually nice, too, which is something.”

“So you talked to him, then.” Drew’s face has broken out into triumphant glee, and it’s somewhat frightening if only because Wade knows it means he won’t be letting go of this. “Go on. Give me a name. You must have one.”

For a moment, Wade can’t quite believe he’s surrendering, but Drew is especially adept at getting things out of him.

“His name is Cody,” Wade tells him, a little resigned although he knew he’d wind round to telling Drew anyway. “And I wouldn’t have even known that if I hadn’t listened to him order and give his name. Otherwise we just would have been nameless small talk in the queue for coffee.”

Drew doesn’t even bother to hide it when he looks away, taking a moment to react, his expression both pointed and incredulous.

“Oh, Wade,” Drew says, his head in his hands now, “what the hell are we gonna do with you? You’re hung up on someone you met in...” He sighs again; it sounds like there’s a laugh he can barely hold back lurking there somewhere. “I can’t believe you, sometimes.”

“Told you I’d never see him again,” Wade mutters, taking the first sip from his drink since the subject’s come up. God, he needs it.

“No, no, I’m sure we can work something out,” says Drew, ever trying to be the optimist for other people – mostly for Wade. “Do I know a Cody?” he ponders, taking a moment to think, and then – “A-ha. Cody Rhodes.”

“Just because you know someone with the same first name doesn’t mean it’s him,” Wade says. “I mean – it’s more likely, as in ninety-nine point whatever percent more likely, _not_ to be him, of course. Not like you can get anything from just a first name.”

“Oh, I can get things,” Drew tells him, a mysterious undercurrent there in his voice as he speaks. Wade would think Drew’s putting it on for the sake of things, but Drew really _is_ good at surprising him. He doesn’t think Drew will be able to surprise him here, though.

“I really doubt they’re the same person, mate,” says Wade. “Or that either of us would be able to find him again. Think I’ll just settle for drowning my sorrows about his face in a drink, thanks.”

“Hey.” Drew frowns. “My Cody’s got a good face, too.”

“I’m sure he does,” Wade says dryly, and he does his very best not to look through Drew’s Facebook friends for a _Cody Rhodes_ , or to type the name into any search bars to see what comes up.

 

 

He manages it, surprisingly. Besides, looking through Drew’s Facebook friends would probably take forever. How the hell does he know so many people? What’s he done to meet all of them? Wade never asks: just lets Drew introduce them to him if they ever happen to meet. He’s certainly never heard of a Cody Rhodes, but maybe he wants to. Without having to face the crippling disappointment of finding out who he is via social media.

Eventually, he caves in.

“So. About this... Cody Rhodes,” he says when he meets up with Drew on another evening, and Drew’s eyes have lit up before Wade’s even finished his sentence.

“Aye?” Everything about Drew’s tone and expression is sly. So, so sly. Wade’s half regretting asking.

“Who is he?”

“Oh, I don’t know him that well. Just enough to know that he’s probably a good person. Perhaps a good person for _you_.” He pauses, perhaps a little dramatically. “But, yeah. He lives in town, so you’re in luck, maybe he is the same...” Wade shoots him a pointed look. “So, you’ve given up on that?”

“Well, yeah. Pointless, isn’t it? Just tell me about this other Cody, all right?”

“Less of the _other_ , but OK. So he’s the same age as me. Very like, classically good-looking, I guess. American. But then again, yours probably was too. Uh. He’s shorter than us, obviously, because that’s not exactly difficult, but he’s not like, short, y’know?” Drew narrows his eyes as if he’s trying to think of what else to say. “All around a good guy, I think. As I said, I don’t know him that well. You want to look on Facebook for him or something if you really are interested?”

Wade shakes his head. “Nah, it’s good,” he says, and Drew’s eyes glimmer.

“Ah! So you really are holding out, then.”

“Holding out on what?”

“On your mysterious coffee shop Cody, of course! I _told_ you, they could be the same person. Like, I’d put money on it.”

Wade isn’t going to take the offer of a bet. Besides, even if he’s right he’s hardly likely to get anything off Drew in the first place.

“Besides,” Drew continues, “at least I’m certain that the guy I know is actually into men, so at least you could be in with a chance there. You’re hung up on a total stranger who you don’t even know the first thing about.”

Ouch. That’s true. Wade tries to shrug it off, but it’s difficult to push that from his mind.

“I haven’t even seen him again over the last couple of weeks. I told you: I’m not holding out on it.”

“You’re the one bringing it up,” Drew points out, and to be honest, he’s got Wade there. Time for a subject change, then.

“Just wondering,” Wade mutters, and he doesn’t let himself talk about it any longer.

 

 

Monday, however, has a different tale to tell. Wade goes for coffee like he always does before work, nagging at himself to start making his _own_ coffee in the morning to take with him because this coffeehouse is _expensive_ and he could really do with saving some money right now. He’s about to head back to the door and leave, and – oh _God_.

He counts himself lucky that the paper cup in his hand stays there rather than falling to the floor, all its contents spilling out there. He also counts himself lucky that he hasn’t started bringing his own coffee to work because otherwise this probably wouldn’t have happened again.

It’s Cody, entering the shop. Or rather, trying to enter. He’s taking a rather long time to get in considering he’s holding the door open for everyone who’s on their way out.

Maybe Wade won’t have to keep hounding Drew about this after all, and this will be the moment where Cody turns to see him and decides to strike up another conversation, this one verging away from small talk to the point that Cody will be interested enough to want to see him another time, and maybe he can try his hand at making Cody laugh...

Though no, probably not. Wade’s never been overly optimistic.

But Cody is still there at the door, not even seeming to care that most of the people passing by don’t even thank him, and now he’s nodding at Wade with a smile just as bright as Wade remembers from before. Wade would love to say that it means Cody remembers him, but he thinks it’s just so much a part of the man’s personality that Cody probably spends half his energy smiling at strangers.

After all, that’s what has Wade in this mess in the first place.

Cody’s walking inside now, walking towards Wade. Wade thinks it’s towards him, at least, but it’s more likely just so Cody can buy his drink and then be off.

Drew would tell him that he has to take a chance. After all, when’s he going to get it again? Plus, it _is_ him that Cody’s gravitating towards. Wade’s somewhat surer of that now. That doesn’t mean it’s true, necessarily, but it’s looking like a possibility.

A probability.

Fuck it. He can do this. He’s _wanted_ to do this; it plays through his head almost incessantly when Cody comes to mind, which is honestly quite a lot, not that he’d admit it out loud, let alone to Cody himself.

He’s about to open his mouth to say something, anything, raking his brain for something even vaguely amusing, when he’s met with a greeting instead, a slightly breathless sounding, “Hi.”

Wade knows he must look so shocked that Cody’s face falls just a little. And that’s something that needs to be rectified absolutely immediately.

“Cody, right?” he asks, even though he _knows_ , and just because he doesn’t want Cody to feel like a total fool if he thinks Wade doesn’t remember. _As if he could forget_.

“You remembered! You remembered and I never even told you. Wow.” And he lights right back up again. Wade feels his chest throb unwillingly. Just his heart seeming to _burst_ right there. Nothing major, of course not.

“Uh, yeah. Not that that’s like, not totally weird or anything–” Wade begins, but Cody for some reason seems to think it’s _not_ weird, and continues talking.

“I wish I could say I remember too, but I never even found out.”

Wade takes that as his cue to introduce myself.

“Well,” he says, “I’m Wade.” It’s all he can think to say.

“Wade! Right. You know me already, apparently. Nice to meet you!”

He holds out his hand for Wade to shake. Wade takes it, a little taken aback. Cody’s hand is firm and warm and Wade feels that bit more confident.

“Unless you’ve got somewhere you desperately need to run off to, do you wanna sit down for a few minutes? You don’t have to, of course, I just–”

_Sit down?_

“Yeah, sure.” Wade’s reply is almost immediate, though he’s still convinced that _no,_ he must be dreaming, even if he can’t remember any dreams from last night because he’s not sure if he fell asleep or not, even if he’s certain that something totally out of the ordinary must have happened already for this to be a dream. (Seeing Cody in the first place, though – that’s pretty out of the ordinary, he guesses. Being approached by him, too.)

People don’t tend to eat in here in the mornings; it’s just a mad rush of workers headed to offices so it’s easy enough to find somewhere. The moment they’re both seated, Cody’s speaking again.

“There is a reason for this, by the way. I kinda wanted to ask this the last time we met, which also happened to be the first time we met, so I thought it might be a bit strange if I did, y’know? Plus I sort of just ran off, which I regret because afterwards I didn’t think I’d come across you again, even though I come here most days. I don’t regret it much now, because you’re here again and you’re like, actually willing to talk to me. So. Is it all right if I get your number? It’s fine if you say no, because obviously you don’t have to go around giving your contact details out to every completely random person you meet a couple of times in a coffee shop–”

Wow, OK. Wade had thought he’d be the one to ask for that, but sure. And this way, he won’t be agonising over whether or whether or not to make contact, not at first.

“Of course,” he says quickly, perhaps too quickly, before Cody’s even finished speaking, procuring a pen from a pocket and scrawling down the digits on a napkin. “I wanted to ask that too, actually.”

“You did?” Cody sounds positively overjoyed. Wade isn’t sure if he’s imagining it. “I mean, uh, you did? Gotta keep my cool here.”

It’s so endearing that Wade has to fight not to laugh. The answer to the question is simple: how could he _not_?

“I did, yeah. Quite a lot. How about it, then?”

“You want my number?” he wonders again, as if Wade didn’t just confirm that the answer was a definite _yes_. “Give me a sec. Gotta find something to write it down on...” He starts to fish through his pockets, shaking his head when Wade holds out another napkin for him to use as paper. “Uh. I’ve got business cards? They’ve only got my work number on them, though. I’ll get my cell on there for you too. Just because I don’t think my office would appreciate it very much if you were like, calling me there.” He smiles as he jots his number down on the card with a biro. Wade finds himself smiling back just at the sight. “Here.”

Wade takes the card, and – he has to do a double take when he sees the name emblazoned on it.

“You OK there?” Cody asks him, and Wade just has to nod. _Cody Rhodes_.

Drew will never let him hear the end of this.


End file.
